Build Assistance For MultiMedia/Gaming

[makeveli64]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Video Editing, Audio Recording, Web Development & BF3
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$1,000 Tax Included
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.

Tulsa OK
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
Motherboard, CPU, RAM, Video Card, Audio Card, Hard Drive, PWR Supply, Case
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
All new with exeption of Monitor, Keyboard & Mouse
6) Will you be overclocking?
Possibility
7) 7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
Dual 24" 1920X1080
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
By 12/20/11
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? etc.
Firewire for audio interface.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes


Thank you for all the input!

 

[makeveli64]

OS is Windows 7 64

 

[Tsuyoi]

Oh boy, firewire support. Might have to get a separate card for that, since most MoBos with native FireWire support are now branded "delux" or "pro", and come with a buncha other features you don't need, and cost an arm and leg. Anyways, here's a prelim:

MoBo+CPU: Intel i5-2500k + MSI P67A-C43 (B3) - $315
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.777266

HSF: CM Hyper 212+ - $26
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

GPU: MSI Radeon 6950 - $260
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127588

RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws X 8GB(2x4GB) DDR3-1600 - $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

PSU: Corsair Enthusiast TX650 V2 - $95
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020

HDD: Hitachi Deskstar 7200RPM 1TB - $130
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...2145533&Tpk=Deskstar 7K1000.D HDS721010DLE630

Firewire Card: Rosewill 2+1 Port Firewire Low Profile PCI Card - $10
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815265002
-----------------------------
Total: $866 without tax

All that's left is a Case, I'm sure someone else here can give you some great recommendations for that for the $60-80 range. The final might be a bit overbudget after tax/shipping, but if anything you can drop the PSU to a lower one, or get the i5-2400 instead of the 2500k

 

[Forceman]

Here's a start:
$349 Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 and Intel i5-2500K
$29 G.Skill Ripjaws X DDR3-1600 8GB
$75 Antec High Current Gamer 620W HCG-620 PSU
$289 EVGA GTX 560 Ti 448 core FTW
$129 Hitachi 7K1000.D 1TB hard drive

Which is $871 before a case, which you can find for under $100. Without knowing what video programs you use, I don't know whether they are Cuda enabled - if they are, then the Nvidia GPU would be better than the otherwise fine AMD 6950.

Edit: I see Tsuyoi out-posted me with pretty much the same config. The Z68 is the newer chipset, which includes support for the CPU's built-in GPU, if that matters to you - otherwise performance is about the same. The Gigabyte board I posted has one 1394 port on the back cluster and a internal header for a front panel port as well.

 

[makeveli64]

Thanks for the input. I will be looking into those! As of now I run Pinnacle Studio 14 which is a resource hog. I will more than likely be stepping it up and going with another app for video editing. Would it be worth the extra $$ to go with the i7 series processor?

 

[Tsuyoi]

It really depends on the software you use, some of them can utilize CPUS, and in the case of Intel, Hyperthreading very well, in which case the i7-2600K will make a huge difference, especially if you Overclock. However, you would be paying a much higher premium for that increase.

Also, keep in mind that if you do OC, you'll definitely need an aftermarket cpu cooler/HSF to keep the CPU from toasting.